Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 October 2021
48. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the steps she has taken to reduce gender disparity on Irish radio; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47956/21]
View answerI am committed to supporting progress on gender equality across society, and all areas under my remit.
The Programme for Government provided for the establishment of the Future of Media Commission to consider the future of print, broadcast, and online media in a platform agnostic fashion. The Future of Media Commission has considered the issue of diversity and equality in its deliberations and I am aware that submissions were made to the Commission by Women on Air, an advocacy group for the representation of women on broadcasting media, and by the Equality Expert Group, a collective of experts drawn from a variety of fields, public and private, seeking to support equality and diversity in Irish social, economic and cultural life.
The work of the Future of Media Commission has now been completed. The Taoiseach and I have received the report and are considering its contents. The Report will be brought to Government for consideration in due course, and we will then decide on next steps, including in respect of gender equality.
The Broadcasting Act 2009 sets out the statutory framework for the regulation of sound broadcasting services. The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) is the independent regulator for sound broadcasting content in the State. Commercial radio stations are subject to contractual obligations, including public service commitments with the BAI, which are agreed upon during the licensing process. Compliance with such obligations is monitored by the BAI.
My officials have proactively engaged with the BAI who have been involved in a number of positive actions in relation to gender balance:
- BAI are currently conducting a review of their Gender Action plan which will inform the development of a new Diversity and Inclusion Strategy.
- BAI are working with Learning Waves, the training body for the commercial radio sector, to survey all radio broadcasters to gather information regarding diversity/gender policies and processes for commercial radio broadcasters. This is an important step forward for building an evidence base against which future progress can be measured.
- The BAI has recently launched two reports on diversity and inclusion which were funded through the BAI Media Research Funding Scheme: Auditing Gender & Diversity Change in Irish Media Sectors; and RTÉ & COVID-19 - Diversity and Inclusion and Meeting Public Needs. The reports demonstrate the appetite, among industry players, for increasing diversity and inclusion in the media workforce.
- Under the BAI’s Sound & Vision Funding Scheme, the assessment of applications has included consideration of the number of women in key creative roles, as a measure to support greater gender equality in the industry. This information is then used as an assessment criterion as part of the BAI’s assessment process.
- In addition, Media Literacy Ireland held a webinar on 19th July focusing on ‘media literacy and the representation of women in media’ . This webinar looked at the role media literacy can play in bringing about better representation of women in media.
In my recent attendance at the AGM of the Independent Broadcasters of Ireland, I took the opportunity to encourage their members to play their part in ensuring that women are given a voice both on and off air, in their management structures, among presenters and in terms of those artists given airtime.
My officials continue to engage with all relevant stakeholders in order to further explore appropriate approaches to support gender balance on our broadcasting services.
